Car articulation



Nov 8, 1938." w. H. MUSSEY ET AL I CAR ARTICULATION Filed March 26, 1964 Ewe/2222s erg W Patented Nov. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAR- ARTICULATION poration of Delaware Application March 26,

5 Claims.

This invention relates to cars of the type sometimes called articulated cars, and which comprise two or more sections having separate car bodies with adjacent ends articulated to and carried by a common truck. And the principal objects of the invention are to provide great strength and security with free jointed or articular movement of the range required for railway service and to simplify the end sill and center plate structures.

Further objects and advantages will appear as the disclosure proceeds and the description is read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view with the several parts slightly displaced and one end sill broken away to better show the general forms and relations of parts;

Fig. 2 is a more complete perspective view of the end sill broken away in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, vertical section along the center line of the car.

However, the specific form shown and described is intended for illustration only.

Swing motion trucks are generally preferred for articulated cars (Car Builders Cyclopedia, 1931, pp. 83, 569, 580) but that is a matter of selection from various types (Ibid., section 10, pp. 763 to 791).

The common truck is here represented by a bolster I0 and the car bodies by end sills H and I2. The bolster l0 carries a truck center bearing a plate [3, having-a pintle l4 surrounded by a concave bearing surface I51.

The end sill I2 is equipped with a body center plate bracket, generally indicated at 16 (Fig. 1) which bears the body center plate I'I (Fig. 3), having an opening [8 to receive the pintle l4, and presenting a convex bearing surface l9towards the truck center bearing surface i5 and a concave bearing surface 20 upwardly.

The end sill I I is equipped with a similar body center plate bracket, generally indicated at 2|, (Fig. 1) which bears a center plate 22 (Fig. 3) having a bearing portion 23 and an opening 24 for the pintle l4 and presenting a convex bearing surface 25 to the surface 20 of the body center plate ll.

The body center plate I1 has a downwardly directed flange 26 forming a sort of protecting skirt for the truck center plate, and an upwardly directed flange 29, which has a cylindrical inner surface 30, receiving a corresponding portion 3| of the body center plate 22.

The actual bearing surfaces of the center plates 1934, Serial No. 717,416

are separated by antifriction or self-lubricating material 32, preferably of that type comprising porous metal charged with lubricant, and thereby providing self-lubricating bearings.

The flange 29 of the center plate I! merges into side faces 33 (Fig. l) of considerable vertical width, and they all join what may be called the body portion of the center plate bracket [6, which has an upper face machined in steps 34 and 35. The lower step 34 has a transverse key groove 36 and the upper step has a stout dowel 31.

The end sill l2 has, on its lower side, a machined face in steps 38 and 39, corresponding to the steps 34 and 35. The step 38 has a key groove 4!! opposite to the key groove 36, and receiving with it a key 4!. The end sill also has a Vertical pocket or bore 42 opening through the step 39, and receiving the dowel 31.

The body center plate bracket 2| has a machined upper face 43 and a stout dowel 44 which cooperate with a machined face 45 and a pocket or bore 46 of the end sill II, all as best shown in Fig. 3. A key 4'! corresponding to the key 41 traverses the joint between the faces 43 and 45.

The respective end sills and body center plate brackets are made fast by bolts 48. It will be observed, however, that the form and arrangement of the several parts relieves the bolts of .practically all duty except that of mere fastenings.

The holes 42 and 4B for the dowels are formed in corresponding heads 49 and 50 on the respective end sills, which are ordinarily separated, as best shown in Fig. 3, by about three-eighths of anv inch in this selected embodiment.

The bearing surfaces of the truck and body center plates are substantially spherical in form,

and will, therefore, allow the truck and the respective car bodies to have jointed or swinging movements relative to each other in all directions as the car passes over curved pieces of track having the outer side higher than the inner side, or as it passes over curves in vertical planes relative to the surface of the earth.

There are no side bearings between the end sills and the bolster i3. Instead. the end sills have arms 5| and 52 pivoted to links 53 which, in turn, are pivotally and resiliently connected to the end portions 54 of the bolster III by some means specifically unimportant here.

By slightly'modifying the inner center plate bracket 2|, the end sill casting ll may be made identical with the end sill casting [2. Such a modification would merely entail the provision of a step similar to the one indicated at 39 on the outer center plate bracket l6 and increasing the bottom bearing faces, the dowel being substari tially over the bearing faces.

2. In a car, a truck bolster adapted to support adjacent ends of two car bodies, a" truck center plate, car body center plates resting one" above the other on the truck cent'erplate, the'ii'itermediate center plate having an upwardly extending flange engaging the periphery of-"thetop"cen"- ter plate, a downwardly projecting skirt protecting the bearing surface between the twolower' plates; and m'eans'for attaching said body center plates to adjacent ends of car bodies;

3: Ina-'car, a body-center plate bracket having an integral stout dowel extending upwardly therefrom and a stepped face on itsupp'er surface, an end sill resting on said face'and'having' an'opening receiving the do'WeLsaid bracket having a" bearing portion extending outwardly be yond said dowel forming a convex bearing'surface on" its'lower side and a concave bearing surface on its upper side, said'bearing portion having an opening therethrough, and vertical fianges'extending upwardly an'd downwardly about the peripheries of said bearing surfaces, respectively.

4. In a car; a body center'plate bracket presenting a-dowel-and"a*joint\face upwardly and a center plate on the bracket presenting a'convex bearing face downwardly and a concave bearing face upwardly, said center plate having a flange extending vertically upwardly about the periphery of said concave bearing face and a flange extending vertically downwardly about said convex bearing face adjacent to the periphery thereof for protecting said bearings against the entrance of foreign n'iatter, I g g 5. In an" articulated tram; a pair of adjacent car sections, means for connecting said sections together and for supporting the same comprising acair endisill on each section, a body center plate bracket for each section, each bracket having an in'wa'rdlyextending portion, an outwardly extending] portion and an intermediate upwardly extending portion; said inwardly extending portions extending beneath the corresponding sills, eachinwa'rdly extending portion and the under side of the adjacent sill having oppositely facing shoulders spaced apart in parallel vertical planes, thus 'forming a'pair of adjacent shoulders, a key rectangular-in? cross section engaging each adja cent pair of shoulders, vertically extending; bolts for holding said brackets in engagement with said sills whereby said shoulders andkeys will relieve said'bolts of stresses due to draftf or ces applied to said brackets; said upwardly extend;

ing portions extending upwardly-alongside and in contact with the outer portions of saidsillsfior relieving said bolts of shearing stress due to buifing forces -and;cooperating with said keys for' resisting-upwardly directed turning forces applied to the outer ends of said bragzliets, and concentric hearings on the outer portions of said brackets for supporting'said carsections on ,a truck MARTIN PL LQMBERG. WILLIAM H. MUSSEY. 

